Summer Knitting Goals

As you may or may not know, Ravelympics 2008 is almost upon us! If you aren't a Ravelry member, here's the gist: cast on for a project during the Opening Ceremonies of the Summer Olympics in Beijing and finish before the flame goes out.

I've signed up with Team Bloc 11 and I'll be participating in WIP Wrestling, the one exception to the above cast-on rule. In this event, one tries to finish as many languishing knitting projects as possible during that time. My goal is to complete the Lace Ribbon Scarf I cast on for way back on May 16th. I've made some progress since then, but not much and not recently. I think I can finish it in 17 days if I really work at it. (And if I have time, maybe I'll even go back and finish the Blythe coat from last year! Oooh!)

My non-Olympic goal is to finish the back of St. Enda by the end of August. Although I just finished the front last week, I already have a healthy start on the back. That will give me September to do one sleeve, and October to do the other. In November I'll just seam it up and finish the neck, and it will be ready to wear by the time the snow falls. Easy peasy!

Why do I feel like Bridget Jones convincing herself she can pull together a dinner party for 12 people in an hour with 6 missing ingredients?

Sweater front is done!

And it only took me three months! I will need to pick up the pace if I'm going to reach my goal of having this done in time for Eric to wear it this winter.

I haven't blocked it yet or woven in the ends (as you can see) but I may do so soon, before assembling, so that I can be sure of the measurements and because it will dry more quickly if it's just one layer.

I had some concerns with the fit, due to gauge and the wishful thinking of the intended recipient in terms of what size he wears, but it seems like it's right on target. Also, in the original pattern the bottom hem is done in the honeycomb pattern which I changed because I didn't like it. Now I'm losing faith in that decision, but it's too late to change it. I think it'll be ok though - I'm sure you didn't see the picture and exclaim "What the HELL was she thinking with that bottom hem??" Please tell me you didn't.

Goal: finish the back by the end of August!

New Sock

I'm still plugging away on St. Enda and the Lace Ribbon Scarf, but neither of those are good social knitting projects. I needed something to take to knitting group that I won't screw up while trying to hold up my end of a conversation.

This was going to be two socks knit at once on two circs, since the yardage was stingy and I had to buy two skeins, and I've been wanting to try that technique for a while. I think I was almost finished casting on when I decided to rip it out and cast on for just one sock. A sock is great for knitting group not just because it's uncomplicated, but also because it's portable. But if I have to take two socks instead of one, and two skeins of yarn instead of one, it's not quite so portable. I'm actually pretty sure I won't like the technique, but I'd like to prove it to myself. Maybe next time.

This is the first yarn I've used from the trip to Webs back in May. It's Artyarns Ultramerino and it's so soft and vibrant and wonderful and I almost didn't buy it. I decided to pass, but then talked about it all through lunch and finally, under intense peer pressure, went back to the store and bought it. Thank goodness for enablers!

Honeymoon Over

No, this isn't about the Honeymoon Cami, an ill-advised project I started and abandoned long ago, though that is a great example of what I am writing about.

When I began knitting, there was literally a world of projects before me, everything was appealing, and I wanted to knit it all. Through trial and error I have learned to be more discriminating when choosing patterns to knit. Although I am now slightly less enchanted at every new issue of Knitty or IK, knowing that I won't make most of it, I have better results because I know what to choose. I used to get overwhelmed by all the new patterns, and not know where to start, but now I just enjoy looking at the pretty pictures.

Here are some things I have learned:

- Not to be a guinea pig. I wait to see others' results before embarking on any project.
- Bulky yarns may knit up quickly, but with few exceptions I probably won't wear the result.
- Wide boatnecks are impractical and pointless. This eliminates most sweater patterns designed these days, but no way am I going to walk around with my bra straps hanging out.
- If I would pass it by in a store, I probably shouldn't invest the time and money in knitting it.
- You really can have too many scarves.
- Ditto for hats.
- No matter how cute those tops are, I simply will not wear yarn in the summer.
- I dislike working with mohair.
- If I've never worn a shrug/shawl/whatever, a nice pattern is no reason to think I'll wear one now.
- If the pattern doesn't list a gauge and/or finished measurements, beware!
- Just because it looks fantastic on the model doesn't mean it will look good on me.
- Most objects really don't need cozies.
- Ditto for pets and sweaters. I'm opposed to animal cruelty.

Is your knitting honeymoon over? What have you learned about how to choose patterns?

Puzzled by sock yarn

Since I began knitting socks, I've been frustrated by the fact that many yarns do not clearly state on the label that when knit up the colors will form stripes. I know there are some beautifully variegated yarns out there, but every time I think I'm buying some it turns out to be striped. For example, the Tofutsies I used for my Monkey socks. There are so many colors that not only didn't I realize it was striping yarn when I bought it, I didn't even notice it as I was knitting. I'm so daft that I first noticed the stripes when the socks were completely done and I tried them on.

I have nothing against yarns that stripe, but I do like to have some idea how a yarn will look knit up before matching it to a pattern. Yarn stores are full of swatches of their various yarns so you can see how they'll knit up, but sock yarn remains a mystery. No swatches. Do the yarn manufacturers and yarn shop management think that because the yarn is just for socks, we care less how it will look than if we were knitting a sweater?

A couple of weeks ago I was at Webs and saw what I thought was a bunch of swatches stuffed on a shelf, but turned out to be Flat Feet, sock yarn sold in knitted flats. Hey, I thought, what a great idea! Finally, I can see what the yarn looks like knit up. But no, that would make too much sense in the bewildering world of sock yarn. It doesn't look anything like the flat once it's knit up. Why, you may ask, does it come as a piece of knitted fabric?

Because it is portable.

Just think about that for a moment.

I mean, it is such a BURDEN to carry around sock yarn that is wound into a ball, right? Seriously, a ball is more compact than one of these flats which presumably must be folded to fit into your knitting bag and thus will be *more* annoying to unwind than a ball (what with having to unfold it), so I fail to see how one could argue that it is more portable.

Also, "no tangles!"

So, same as a ball, right? There are no tangles in balled yarn until you pull it OFF the ball to use it. Just as this will tangle once you pull it out of the flat. Plus it's all crimpy from being knit up already.

You know how you feel when you're the only person who doesn't get the joke? That's how I feel about sock yarn, especially Flat Feet. Perhaps I just don't truly understand sock knitting yet. In all fairness to Conjoined Creations, the colors are lovely. I just think they could have done without the silly gimmick.

Beaded Rib Socks

Or, the Socks that Would Not End.



The socks are nice. (Wish I could say as much for my floors. Ugh!)

I really love this colorway of Tofutsies. It's a combination of off-white, tan, and grey that overall looks very pebbly. I used the Beaded Rib Pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks. It's rather similar to the pattern for another pair I made recently, which I think is why this pair felt like it took so long. I just got bored, and it didn't help that my other project is off-white. I need to knit something colorful now!

This is only my second pair of toe-up socks and I think I can definitively say that I don't like that method. Short-row shaping is so awkward and messy, and look how terrible the heel looks:



Definitely not the neat orderly sock heels that I love. No! Big gaps and loose stitches on both sides of both heels. I still like the socks though. I'm wearing them now and they are quite comfy, which I suppose is the most important thing.

Aran sweater progress

I haven't shown you any progress on my knitting in a while and, in fact, it doesn't feel like there's a lot of progress to show. But I'm forging slowly ahead on the St. Enda sweater.


This is a fun project to knit. I like following charts! I changed the hem at the bottom, which was originally supposed to be the honeycomb pattern. I wanted it to look different but wasn't sure what to do. Finally, I decided to just knit it as written, but made an error and liked the result. I don't like knitting the honeycomb - it is tiny little cables, but they are very tight for some reason. I also have to keep checking the key because I get the symbols mixed up. It's starting to get easier though.

I'm getting nervous about whether it will fit. I took a lot of measurements, did math, and thoroughly swatched...so I should have no reason to worry, right?

Shedir, finished

This was a fun project. I used less than skein of the Lion Brand Microspun I had in my stash. My head is pretty small so I omitted a pattern repeat (or possibly two, I can't remember). It fits well and it's perfect for spring!

Smooshy Sock Yarn!

Remember my mention of fabulous prizes for the February sockdown? Guess what? I won a fabulous prize!

Two skeins of Dream in Color Smooshy Sock yarn:


They were donated by Sonny and Shear (tagline: "I Got Ewe, Babe") and were packaged up very nicely with a lovely card and a couple of packets of yummy herbal tea. The pink colorway is called Petal Shower and the green is Spring Tickle. They also include a small sample of a colorway called Chewy Spaghetti. They are quite lovely - take a closer look:


This is perfect because I have so many sock patterns in my queue, and for some strange reason the local yarn stores just don't have the variety of sock yarns that I require. This is a real treat!

The proper way to begin a project

With the heartbreak of this sweater freshly in mind, this would be a good time to describe the proper way to begin a project.

Eric has requested a "fisherman's sweater" so we spent a great deal of time looking through patterns, which were narrowed down to three choices from Alice Starmore's Aran Knitting. After choosing a pattern we went to A Good Yarn in Brookline. Much yarn was fondled and a choice was made: Jamieson's Shetland Heather in the color Ivory, which of course the store didn't have nearly enough of.

I found one online retailer in the US that could supply me with the needed quantity of yarn, Kirtland's Yarn Barn, a one-woman show in Dellwyn, VA. Here is the exciting lovely yarn:


mmm, so pretty.

Before casting on in wild abandon, as I have been known to do in the past, I took the time to swatch. For the pattern we chose, Irish Moss, I made two swatches and neither came out with the correct gauge even after blocking. I didn't want to go with smaller needles because the yarn is too thick and I don't want this sweater to be able to stand up by itself.

The options were as follows:
1. Alter the pattern so the yarn could be used. I did some math and came up with ways this could be done.
2. Choose a more appropriate pattern.

Normally, I would not recommend choosing a pattern based on the yarn because that has not gone well for me in the past. However, in this case there were two other fine patterns in the running and I realized that the gauge in both patterns was appropriate for the yarn. St. Enda was chosen and I swatched again. Again - and I cannot stress this enough - I washed and blocked the swatch.


The gauge is ever so slightly too tight (a half stitch) but a more aggressive block could easily fix that. Also, the sizing on this sweater is even larger than the other, and the small is a little too big, so it should all work out. (What is up the 10 inches of ease that Starmore designs in her garments? You may as well wear a couch cover.)

I have cast on and will post a photo when I have knit enough that it's worth looking at.

Many little cables

I've begun the Shedir hat from Knitty with some Lion Brand Microspun I've had hanging around for a while. This was a great opportunity to try a new technique - cabling without a cable needle. I have long put off trying this because it involves slipping live stitches off the needles, which seems like a ridiculous thing to do on purpose. It's every bit as annoying and fiddly and awkward as I expected, plus the yarn is slippery and splitty which makes it especially challenging. Still, it's not terrible and I think it's worth it for this project because of the sheer number of cables involved.

I wasn't sure if this hat was going to be for me or my mom (it IS a chemo cap, after all) but it felt a little tight when I tried it on so I think it will be for me. I'm kind of glad - I think it will be cute on me!

Word of the day: Failure

Today we will learn some knitting vocabulary, shall we? The two terms we'll familiarize ourselves with are frog and hibernate.

To frog means to completely unravel a project. It is referred to as "frogging" because you "rip it rip it" (I know, lame, but I didn't make it up). One frogs if a project is coming out so poorly that it cannot be fixed without re-starting, or if it is so hopeless the yarn should be rescued and used for a more suitable project in the future.

To illustrate, the Here And There Cables Scarf:


I couldn't think of one good reason to keep going on this scarf. The only reason I started it was because I had the yarn leftover, and I had a copy of Scarf Style which I had never used. These, my friends, are not good reasons to embark upon a time- and effort-consuming project. I don't need another warm winter scarf, the color doesn't match my coat, I had nobody to give it to, and it wasn't even coming out as nicely drapy as I had hoped. So there it is. A reminder of why I normally choose a pattern I want to make, and then buy yarn appropriate for it. Very simple.

When a project hibernates it means that no further progress is being made, but it is not being frogged. Hibernating occurs when you are so despondant at your failure that you cannot even bring yourself to frog. The article is simply stuffed into a bag and then into the farthest reaches of your least-visited closet.

My hibernation example, sadly, is the Sweater with Rib Pattern:


I was told by Eric that I should go ahead and make the second sleeve as "it's not terrible," but I won't. First of all, "not terrible" isn't a good enough reason to continue putting in that much work on a project. Secondly, perhaps it doesn't look terrible but it was not his arm that was losing circulation from this sleeve.

Had I used wool I could block it larger, but of course I used a cheap acrylic as I wasn't super-excited about the pattern and just wanted to use up the yarn (see above lesson learned about using these determinants to choose projects.) I could, if I had the wherewithall to do so, take the sleeve out, knit a new slightly larger sleeve, then another similar sleeve, and finish. But honestly, I just can't. I have been bogged down by this project for too long and don't like the sweater enough to continue. I've already made 3 back/fronts and a sleeve. I have nothing more in me for the Sweater with Rib Pattern. And of course, I have only myself to blame as I knew from the start that this project was ill-conceived.

So there you have it - two perfectly apt real-world illustrations of important knitting concepts. There will be a quiz. I hope we don't have to go over these concepts again. I really, really hope not.

Tiptoe Through the Tulips

Lovely, impractical socks! I do not like this thing called intarsia, nor do I think it's a good choice for sock heels. But they are cute, no?

The pattern is from Knitty and designed by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, aka the Yarn Harlot. Unfortunately, it's a bit sloppily written but if you have sock experience it's not too bad. The sizes are very unclear; while the pattern lists sizes S, M, L it actually only includes one set of instructions with a note that if you want to make the larger size, use larger needles. What if you want to make medium? Or maybe I made medium and it is small that is missing. We will never know, because the pattern doesn't include any measurements to help define S, M, or L. The instructions also neglect to tell you to work in stockinette or switch to white for the toe, but you can tell from the pictures. But mostly it was a fun project and really, I enjoy make anything that is turquoise. And they are very springlike.

But what is this wayward stitch marring the otherwise orderly gusset?

Your guess is as good as mine. I have no idea what happened there.

I made these for the February Sockdown on Ravelry. The theme was to make socks with a heel that is new to you; cast on anytime during the month of February and finish by the end of March. There are fantastic prizes for some lucky winners, which is what it's all about. Or maybe it's about having yet another pair of fabulous handmade socks?

Second Top-Down Hat

This is much better now. I ripped back to get rid of some of the decreases, did some more math, and re-knit. Simple stockinette with a seed stitch brim. Mailed both hats off to my mom - I hope they fit!


I have some lovely brown Knitpicks Decadence with which I hope to knit myself a cabled top-down hat. I've been thinking about it for a while but wasn't sure how the cables would work with the increases. The practice from these hats, especially the ribbed one, have made it a little more clear. It'll still take a bit of fiddling and adjusting but at least now I have a better idea. I think.

Blue Ribbed Hat

Of the two top-down hats, this one come out acceptably on the first attempt. The increases that I expressed so much pleasure with in the last post looked even better when I turned the hat inside out, and so that is how it remains.



The yarn and rib pattern were a good choice. The hat is very soft and stretchy and although it fits me fine, it should still fit my mother as well.

Teal Hat 2.0 is also finally done, so stay tuned for pretty pictures!

Intarsia!

This can't be right, can it? Can you even see that there is a sock under all those bobbins?

This is my first real intarsia and I'm a bit flummoxed. I checked a few knitting books for instructions, but the intarsia patterns they show are all very clearly defined blocks of color - just squares, really - not an actual picture like you would encounter in a real pattern. There was no mention of patterns with parts where it may be best to carry the yarn instead of starting yet another bobbin, but I'm assuming it's ok. Because that's what I did. This design has several rows wherein there are two colors, alternating every couple of stitches, so I just carried for those parts and then everything became nice and blobby and intarsia-like again and I went back to using a bobbin for each section of color.

Also, my unhelpful books didn't mention how to keep the bobbins straight so you are sure to use the correct one. I have a vague memory of reading something about putting all the bobbins in a bag or a box with little holes all in a row for the yarn to come through, to keep them all in order. This seemed like too much work for just a sock heel. Ha. Not nearly as much work, I suspect, as untangling about 12 bobbins every five minutes. But despite my problems, it has come out quite well.


If nothing else, it is great practice for colorwork. And I'm beginning to suspect that is all it will be is practice. Because as cute as these socks will be...Intarsia? Not such a good idea for sock heels. Every one of those bobbins pictured above represents TWO ends to be woven in, creating a messy, bumpy heel. (I just typed that in as "hell," an apt description of the two hours I spent trying to weave in all 482 yarn ends without distorting the stitches.)

Oh, and also? I will have to do this all again on the second sock.
______________________________________________
P.S. Apparently Grumperina shares my love of a fine heel gusset.

Hats, from the top

It makes sense to knit hats starting at the top, so that you can try them on as you go. This way you can be sure that you don't end up with a hat that's too short, freezing your ears, or too long, covering your eyes. In theory, anyway. In reality, knitting hats top-down is difficult in its own way. I'm using the pattern from The Knitting Man(ual), which is more of a general guideline, and one that isn't working out well for me.

The book says to increase every other round "until hat fits head circumference." The problem with this is that you can't tell if it fits your head circumference because it's just the TOP of the hat and you can't try on a hat with no sides. You can set it atop your head, but that is not very informative. I've started two different hats, ripped back, re-started, done some math and still I'm ending up with hats which seem too large.

Here is the first, made with Sublime yarn, a very soft extrafine merino:



The gauge on the bottom part of the hat, after the increases, came out larger then at the top. My options are to rip back far enough to rid the hat of some of the increases, or to rip back until just after the increases and switch to a smaller size needle. I'm just frustrated that I did a lot of calculations to make this come out the right size, yet it continued to grow after I finished increasing.

The second hat, made with Classic Yarns Cashsoft Baby DK (I think this is from Rowan) is still in progress and a bit more promising.



I ribbed it so it would be stretchy, thus accomodating different sizes better. This may actually work. It feels loose on me, but not terribly, and I may make it long enough to have a folded-up brim which should make it more snug.

Adding a pattern during increasing is tricky, and may be one reason for the seeming unpopularity of top-down hat patterns, but I like how it looks.


It's a little messier than I'd like it to look (especially the very top) but in general I like the look of the ribs sprouting off one another. This is a great prototype for the top-down cabled hat I've been planning to make for myself for a while now.

These hats are especially difficult as I'm making them for my mother whose head is larger than mine, but she will be losing her hair from chemotherapy so they should probably be a little more snug than usual. I'm a little nervous because there are "chemo cap" patterns and I'm honestly not sure what makes them different from other hat patterns. I made sure to choose the softest yarn I could find though, and I chose DK yarn so they'd be less bulky. Will they be warm enough for winter in Maine though? I hope so.

Hopefully these will both be done in the next week, and I'll post final pictures before I mail them off!

Retro Rib Socks

These are from Interweave Knits, Winter 2004 issue (I guess I'm a little behind!) I used Zwerger Garn Opal, which is quite lovely yarn and comes in generous skeins of 465 yards.

This is a very enjoyable pattern to knit because it's so simple - just knits and purls - but creates a nice texture. It's also easy to memorize.

I'm so glad these socks are done because I've been very antsy to wear them! Once you start wearing hand knits socks, there is no going back, and right now I don't have nearly enough pairs to get me through the week.

Sweater, now with 50% more misfortune

My vacation, I thought, would be the perfect time to correct the mistakes of the Sweater with Rib Pattern. So last week I prepared to measure, take notes, calculate and set my course toward a successful sweater. The first thing I did was to lay out my sweater on the dining room table to take it apart and get a good look at what needs to be done.

Right away I noticed something that had escaped my attention earlier: the front and back of the sweater aren't quite the same color.

As you can imagine, I was not happy to see this. I'm using Caron Simply Soft which is cheap, acrylic, and declares "no dye lot," which apparently doesn't mean what I thought it meant. I assumed it meant "no need for a dye lot because the materials are all fake and completely uniform." But no, it seems to mean "Hey buddy, you're on your own. Good luck with that." For some reason, this color issue is only visible under the dining room light, which is why I hadn't noticed it before. (And is inexplicable - it's a crappy old chandelier with those stupid little chandelier bulbs.) I didn't even attempt to capture the issue in a photo. The long and short of it is that if it's so apparent in one room of my house, it's sure to be apparent somewhere I will go wearing the sweater, so it must be fixed.

I assembled all the skeins of the yarn together and divided them up based on the color differences. There is enough of one shade to at least do another front (or back - they are the same). Worst-case scenario, the sleeves will end up being slightly off color. But there is no avoiding having to do another whole large piece, and this is in addition to ripping back and correcting the lace pattern.

One thing I try to do every time I have vacation in the winter is watch Pride & Prejudice, the 5-hour BBC version. While doing so I ripped back and re-knit most of one piece with the lace coming out higher up. A little too high. So I ripped back again (this is becoming a theme) and finally finished that piece. Third time's a charm, as they say.


Now I just need to make another whole piece like this. Again. Let's hope I get to wear this sweater while it's still cold enough to do so.

Gusset, a love story

My favorite part of knitting socks is creating the gusset, that little triangular space that connects the leg and foot near your ankle.

In traditional cuff-down socks, once the leg is complete half the stitches are set aside while knitting back and forth to create a heel flap, and decreases are then used to form the heel shape. To create the gusset, stitches are picked up along the edge of the heel flap, perpendicular to the leg.


They look so neat and orderly!

This is done on the other side as well, until it is all connected in a tube shape again, but now the tube is turned in a new direction to create the foot.


Seeing the little rows marching on away from the heel is so satisfying! This new larger tube is now decreased through the ankle area until it is the right size for the foot, and those decreases create the lovely triangular final gusset shape.


So neat, so perfect, and so little left before my sock is complete!